“He apologised, it’s all good” - Barcelona superstar on clearing-the-air talks with Ilkay Gundogan
Barcelona defender Ronald Araujo recently revealed that he clarified his differences with teammate Ilkay Gundogan. He claimed that the German midfielder had apologized for his comments following the team's UEFA Champions League (UCL) loss to Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) on Tuesday, April 16.
Speaking to the media after Barcelona's El Clasico loss to Real Madrid, Araujo stated that the duo had put their differences aside already. He admitted that the midfielder had apologized and said (via Fabrizio Romano):
"It's all clarified with Ilkay Gündogan, I spoke to him and he apologized. It's all good."
After the defeat to PSG, where Araujo was sent off in the second leg, leading to his side's capitulation, the Uruguay international said that he wouldn't make a public statement about Gundogan's criticism. He said (via GOAL):
"I prefer to keep what I think to myself. I have codes and values that must be respected."
He also issued an apology to the club's fans, saying:
"I am sad, like all Barca fans, because of the red card. The shot was 50-50 and the referee made the decision. It hurts. To the young fans of Barca, I tell them we are very sorry and that is how football is. We are Barca and we have a very good young group, which will fight for the Champions League next year, and I am sure we will bring them a lot of joy."
Araujo was sent off in the 29th minute of the clash against PSG. Barcelona were then leading 1-0 in the game and 4-2 on aggregate. But the Ligue 1 giants made the most of the extra man and went on to win 6-4 on aggregate.
Ilkay Gundogan hit out at Ronald Araujo after Barcelona's loss to PSG
Ilkay Gundogan was not happy with Ronald Araujo after the loss to PSG, which resulted in their elimination from the UEFA Champions League. He shifted the blame to the defender and said he needed to make a better decision.
He said:
"You know, in these kind of crucial moments you need to be sure to get the ball. If you don't, and again I don't know if he touched the ball or not, you need to stay away. I would prefer to concede a goal there or give the striker 1v1. Although, the ball was played quite far ahead so I don't even know if he would have reached the ball. But, maybe let our goalkeeper save us or even concede a goal because to go a player down so early on just kills your game."
Ousmane Dembele and Vitinha scored a goal each, and Kylian Mbappe backed it up with a brace in the final 30 minutes of the game to seal PSG's 4-1 win against Barcelona in the second leg and 6-2 on aggregate.